Armageddon? Politics After Obamacare..

Anyone that didn't see this eventuality the minute that Barack Obama was elected President simply had their head in the sand. As Al Sharpton said last night, "First of all, then we have to say the American public overwhelmingly voted for socialism when they elected President Obama." When you elect the most liberal President in a generation, you get what you ask for. I actually am still shocked that they didn't get this done one year ago. Only ineptitude on the part of our opposition led to this drawn out process.

So now comes the first day of the rest of our political lives.

First, we should never, ever underestimate the damage that ideological liberals can cause this country. In one single vote, Democrats have likely guaranteed the bankruptcy of Medicare, and have likely pointed the country to longterm structural deficits as far as the eye can see. Even liberals don't believe Obama's talking points on deficit reduction. This is debt that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying for during the decades to come.

Secondly, let us remember how we feel this day. When conservatives on our side left the Republican party because of purity of ideology, they said both the Democrats and Republicans were the same. They are not the same. The Republicans have let us down time after time, but they would never have imposed this atrocity on the American people. Never. So the next time someone tells you that both parties are the same, recall this moment.

But most importantly, let us not wallow in our own despair. This was a terrible political defeat, both for conservatives and the country at large. And it is a defeat that will cost the American people dearly. No one believes in any of the promises made by Democrats regarding this bill. And now, because of our failure to maintain our ideals and beliefs over the last decade, liberals have imposed a level of damage on this country that I don't think any of us can fathom.

Next comes the short term.

Legal challenges will be brought. I am, unfortunately, unconvinced of any legal challenges that will have sufficient standing to win at this point. Maybe the strongest may be challenging the Constitutionality of the universal individual mandate, especially considering that there are exemptions in that law (for example, Amish, who don't believe in insurance, are exempt from the IRS rules). Possibly the states rights issue has some standing, but I doubt it. If I were you, I would not keep your hopes up for a successful Constitutional challenge.

In the near term, it looks like Republicans may be able to bring the entire reconciliation process at a standstill. Senate Republicans have found various methods that could stop the whole process in its tracks, and the Senate Parliamentarian tends to agree. In the next few months, Republicans will have to fight a political guerrilla war. Basically, the Senate needs to shut down for everything not related to job creation. Period. Immigration reform? Cap-and-trade? All should be dead as a doornail. And all other work should come to a standstill as well. For example, if Justice Stephens decides to leave the Supreme Court in the coming months, let us delay any future judicial vote as long as possible. Obama wanted this political environment, now he gets it.

Republicans should only focus on two things: jobs, and the repeal of the debt producing Obamacare package. They should state that Democrats wasted an entire year on a deficit producing health care program as millions of people lost their jobs. Republicans can then try to focus on some job producing measures, such as tax cuts, which the Democrats will then block. Make Democrats play on defense.

As for the politics of health care, our job is to remind the American people what got us here. Never forget the underhanded payoffs and bribes it took to pass this bill. Never forget that over the past few weeks, our President rarely could be heard telling any truths about his own bill. Remember that Obama couldn't answer many questions about the bill a mere 4 days before the vote.

It comes down to one simple question: What does the public want?

I can't answer many things, but I can answer this: the public did not and does not want this health care reform package. Democrats can spin the polls any way they want. But ultimately, whether you look to liberal or conservative pollsters, they all say the same thing: a majority of the American public are against this bill, and a supermajority believed that debate should start from scratch. Conservatives and Independents virtually agree on this, and even a large proportion of Democrats understand that this was a mistake. And the numbers against the special giveaways in this bill, such as Nebraska' Cornhusker kickback, were astronomical. This is key, because this is exactly what the opposition is voting for in the affirmative today.

So, like in any democracy, this leaves us with one true recourse: the ballot box. The greatness of the Constitution is that there is quick retribution to be had when it comes to politics. November will be the moment that Americans either send a message and state that they despise Democratic Washington, as it stands today, or they don't. They will renounce Obamacare, or they will stamp the Obama mandate. They will choose a path to attempt to correct the enormously flawed health care reform bill, possibly even repealing it; or they will state their acceptance of the largest federal individual mandate in American history.

Democrats today claim they will campaign on health care in November. I will take that challenge. I doubt that the DNC or any Democrat will want any American in their district or state to remember the events of the past few weeks. I sincerely doubt you will see any single national advertisement touting the health care bill in the Fall. It is our job to remind them, and remind them again, of the fraud perpetrated on the American people in the name of Mr. Obama's legacy.

It is a simple choice. And we need to make Americans make that choice.

This battle was lost. And at that, it was a terrible, painful loss. However, the fight goes on. Keep things in perspective; we have been in much worse situations before. The war for the hearts and minds of Americans continues.